Fall 2005 UMASS Amherst Operations Research / Management Science Seminar Series

Date: Friday, December 2, 2005 Time: 11:00 AM Location: Isenberg School of Management, Room 112

Speaker: Professor Bill Gibson John Converse Professor of Economics Department of Economics University of Vermont Burlington, VT

Biography: Professor Bill Gibson has taught at UVM since 1986; his degrees are in Agricultural and Resource Economics (Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley), and Aerospace Engineering (Bachelor, Georgia Institute of Technology); he also holds an MBA (University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business). Professor Gibson teaches courses in the fields of development economics, international trade and open economy macroeconomics, econometrics and mathematical economics. His approach is quantitative and his classes use computer simulations to explore the implications of various approaches to economics. The emphasis in his classes is on theory that can be used to analyze real policy problems. Prof. Gibson's main research interest has been in macromodels for developing countries. He has been an economic advisor to various governments, including Mexico, Bolivia, Nicaragua (under the Sandinistas) and South Africa (under the African National Congress). His current research is on economic policy in the era of globalization. Professor Gibson has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, UMass, Notre Dame, La Molina in Peru, El Colegio de Mexico and has been a consultant to the Harvard Institute for International Development, Ford Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations University in Helsinki.

TITLE: Two Models for Analyzing the Impact of Economic Policies

Abstract: This paper discusses two growth models in an effort to simulate the post-war macroeconomy for Argentina. The models, structuralist and neoclassical, are based on a social accounting matrix and then calibrated over a fifty-year period. The standard model is seen to perform well until the 1970s. Thereafter, a demand-driven framework is necessary to parse the reasons for the collapse of the Argentinean economy. A more complex labor market is then introduced to study the associated distribution of income

This series is organized by the UMASS Amherst INFORMS Student Chapter. Support for this series is provided by the Isenberg School of Management, the Department of Finance and Operations Management, INFORMS, and the John F. Smith Memorial Fund. For questions, please contact the INFORMS Student Chapter Representative, Ms. Tina Wakolbinger, wakolbinger@som.umass.edu